


As long as I’m with you (I’ll always land on my feet)

by The_Readers_Muse



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Adult Content, Animal Transformation, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Harry Hart Lives, Hurt/Comfort, In which I watch random animal documentaries and here we are, M/M, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Content, bring on all the cat puns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2018-05-03 17:13:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5299622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Readers_Muse/pseuds/The_Readers_Muse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was all a bit excessive, but anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own "Kingsman: Secret Service" or any of its characters, wishful thinking aside.
> 
> Authors Note #1: This is my second work in the fandom so I am mostly just testing the waters. This is set in a post-movie, Harry lives, Hartwin is an established universe sort of thing. – Honestly I have no excuse for myself with this one, it is complete crack.
> 
> Warnings: Hartwin elements, established relationship, canon appropriate violence, not brit-picked, temporary animal transformation, fluff, hurt/comfort, mild sexual content.

"He's an absolute nutter 'tho, ain't he Harry," he whispered, more for personal reassurance than anything as he yanked on the loops of the chain and steel filament - something that dug painfully into his belly every time one of them breathed – tied back to back in the middle of the empty cell.

 _It was all a bit excessive, but anyway._ __  
  
"Barking mad, I would expect," Harry returned shortly, doing something with his pinky finger that was probably illegal in some country somewhere as he tried to find some sort of weakness in the steel band they were roped with. "However I fear that fact has remarkably little to do with his capabilities in the scientific arena. Might I remind you that Valentine was beloved by the world - yourself included. A genius and well known philanthropist, yet he still managed to create and implement a plan to cull the majority of humanity?"

He winced. Then winced again when the man gave the band a particularly sharp tug. Quickly losing his impressed awe with the unspoken question of  _what the crap was this shit made of even?_ And steaming right into irritation as his squashed stomach gurgled unhappily. Moodily resigning himself to never knowing considering the first thing Professor Frederick Kerr's hired help had done was strip them down to their dress shirts. Carting away their suit jackets, pens, glasses, signet rings and all. Probably to get picked apart in the Professor's lab. Already not looking forward to  _that_ lecture from Merlin whenever he and Roxy decided to get off their asses and save them already.

_Seriously, it'd been hours._

_Merlin couldn't be that sore about them getting caught, could he?_

_Yeah, they were definitely grounded._

"True enough. But we stopped 'im didn't we? This guy ain't half as wealthy. He ain't got satellites or whatever, no friends in high places – well, maybe some birds but, eh. He just wants to save the bloody whales or whatever and-"

But whatever Harry might have had to say in response was cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps. The sound alone enough to make him shut his gob and bow his head dejectedly, the picture of youthful indiscretion and regret. Like he'd been caught driving without a licence rather than crashing a top secret benefit Kerr was putting on to raise money for his latest serum. Something he'd been privately toting as the 'answer' to all of humanities problems. Something to do with species evolution, habitat loss and human incursion into protected animal preservations. There was more, but he'd kind of stopped listening after that, distracted as he'd sipped his martini and started doing a mental tally of the guests. The rest of the presentation being a bit more than a blur as Merlin had clicked and clacked in the background. Sending him the guest's files across the lens of his glasses as soon as the facial recognition software was able to get a match.

Professor Kerr entered the room a lot like he'd last left it, with his sizable gut preceding him. Only this time he was carrying the biggest needle he'd ever seen in his sodding _life_ and a particularly disturbing smile.

And yeah, bloody well  _fuck_  that noise.

He didn't need to crane his neck to know Harry was mirroring him. It was all in his posture. And true to form Harry was gifting the Professor and his henchmen with a look like a thunder storm and a thousand words that said  _I will murder you with my teeth_  as the group approached at a leisurely stroll.

"I was hoping we would be able to sort this out maturely – like gentlemen," Professor Kerr remarked with a sigh, doing an ambling, waddling sort of circlet around them before sinking himself down in the closest chair. Genial smile completely at odds with the ominous  _snap-snap_  of rubber gloves as the man arranged the purple latex over his wrists fastidiously.

"However, it would seem that not only are you unwilling to tell me who you are and who you work for, but that none of my databases seem to have a match for you. I can assure you I checked twice – tedious, of course, but I wanted to be sure. Seems as though you two are quite the mystery."

He eyed the needle nervously through the fan of his lashes as Kerr slipped off the cap.

Already nursing a bad feeling as the Professor smiled again, beady eyes fixed on Harry.

_It was not a nice smile._

"Look mate, you've just seen too many movies, right?" he wheedled, turning up his innocent puppy expression to critical mass as he tried to keep the mad scientist's attention on him. "No harm, no foul. Just. You know, relax. Right? See? You've got us. I am sure this will all be sorted out in the morning, our boss is a reasonable man, 'innit he bruv?" he added, nudging Harry with his elbow for emphasis.

But the Professor ignored him, looking at Harry instead.

Expression sharp and irritated like the fact that he had a mouth was somehow Harry's fault.

_And okay, yeah. That stung a bit. But he could roll with it._

_Play the inexperienced protégée._

_After all it wasn't that far off the mark and Harry made this sort of daddy shite come easy._

"I can assure you this will be a very grave mistake," Harry told him, voice brilliantly rock-steady as he fixed the man with an impatient glare. Acting like the needle and whatever impending doom it contained simply didn't exist as he tried to stall for time. Working their cover right to the end as the syringe glowed honey-tan under the overhead lights.

"My employer sent us here to acquire intel on your discovery. This is corporate espionage. Let the courts deal with it. Or better yet, you with my superiors. Keep things quiet for the sake of stock prices and public relations, hmm?"

"And deprive me of the perfect chance to test my latest formula on an outside source?" Professor Kerr chortled into his beard.  _Like really,_   _who even did that outside of old novels and bad telly?_  "I think not."

"Besides, examples must be made. Businessman to businessman I am sure you understand," the Professor continued, inspecting the needle for any irregularities as he tapped the sides with a smart little  _rap-rap_.

"Quite," Harry returned crisply in a way that made it clear he meant no such thing. Staring – from what he could tell, determinedly at the opposing wall - as Goon #2 ripped the button on Harry's shirt sleeve clear off. Yanking the blue pin-stripes all the way up to the elbow as Goon #3 dotted at a patch of skin with an alcohol-soaked cotton swab.

_Oh yeah-_

It was official.

Harry was absolutely going to  _castrate_  this lot.

"Now, do hold still, I wouldn't want to miss the vein. Especially not with this needle," the professor murmured, wide fingers curling around Harry's wrist in a way that made his gorge rise. Something that made that part of him –  _of them_  – the part they always put away for missions – light up a radiation detector in Fukushima.

It left him pretty much exactly where he'd started. With something shrilling and broken in the back of his mind – screaming like a done-over kettle.  _Not Harry._   _Not again. He couldn't lose him like this. Or ever. No way. After everything they'd been through, this couldn't be-_

"It's an accelerated formula. I won't lie. It won't be pleasant, but you can't say you didn't bring it on yourself," Professor Kerr admonished, bringing the needle up – hovering – as the entire world seemed to still. Then- just fucking  _snap_.

"Oy! You freak! Don't you fuckin' touch him!" he hissed, struggling against their bonds as Harry breathed sharply out of his nose. Not quite an admonishment, but close enough as the steel band that held them tightened another suffocating fraction.

"Michael," the professor said with sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose like the fact that they were even breathing the same air offended him. "Please teach our young friend that silence is a virtue, hmm?"

And so, that was how Michael, also known as Goon #1, walloped him one right in the face the same time the needle broke skin on Harry's forearm.

* * *

He blinked, shaking his head. Letting himself reel with it as he tasted the iron tang of his own red as it rolled down from what he sincerely hoped wasn't a broken nose. Vaguely aware that Harry was saying something to Professor Kerr - a handful of words as the needle plunger slowly sank down and down and down and the line of Harry's back grew more and more rigid against his.

_Holy hell that guy could punch._

"For the sake of your young... _friend_. I do hope your genes aren't predisposed to be predatory rather than benign," the Professor hummed, looking quite pleased with himself as he withdrew the needle with a muted flourish.

"Such a clever thing this serum. It is revolutionary, of course. World changing. It is a pity neither of you will be around to see it. Well,  _one_  of you likely, if all goes well. But certainly not in a position to appreciate it – academically speaking."

_What the hell did he mean by that?_

"But as for you? Frankly, I am not convinced," the professor added as he levered himself out of the chair and fixed Harry with a nasty, anticipatory sort of look. "You look to me like a dangerous man. Ah well, that's natural selection for you. Nature is not a kind mother after all. She is fair, but brutal. More of a role model than a nourisher. I firmly believe it is the sort of pragmatism we should all strive to achieve perhaps."

_Shite._

They were pointedly silent as Kerr waddled off, goons in tow. Taking stock of themselves, their surroundings and their situation as the door slammed closed. Counting not one, but three separate deadbolts and some sort of electronic lock that whined like a dying frequency before clicking into place. Aware that the multiple concealed cameras – all placed in strategic corners all over the room – were whirring into readiness. Blinking red for the first time since they'd noted them, only a few seconds after they'd been shoved into the room in the first place.

"Well, that was dramatic," Harry quipped eventually, when the echoes of the group's footsteps had faded off into nothing and they were left with the half-dark and their own thoughts once again.

"You alright then?" he asked cautiously. Feeling a lot like he was about to sprain something as ill-placed adrenaline sung off-key and wilted in his veins. "Don't feel off or nothin'?"

"It's a bit early to tell either way, I am afraid my dear," Harry returned, not seeming to realize the endearment had slipped through as he rolled his wrist experimentally. Exhaling through his nose in a concentrated rush that made him think of breathing exercises and too high heart rates.

_So, nothing good at any rate._

And, as if Harry could read his thoughts, the man only smiled, back pressing warm and firm against his before he spoke. "Besides, if I was half this easy to do away with, we would have never had the pleasure of meeting."

_And yeah, that was a point._

_But still-_

The rest happened suddenly.

Like snapping your fingers or being involved in a rear-ender.

From one moment to the next, everything went from bad to fuckin'  _nuclear_.

He was eying the camera and the two-way mirror directly opposite when Harry suddenly bent double. Shuddering minutely – like he was trying to hold it back - from where he was tied up behind him. Body giving off a wave of rippling heat he could actually feel as the man inhaled sharply.

"Harry?"

He craned his neck, trying to catch the man's eye as a mess of dark hair shadowed his face, masking his expression. But the line of his jaw, clenched vise-like and twitching told him all he needed to know.

"Harry? Fuck…what's wrong, is it-"

He twisted, ignoring the steel band as he tried to inch his away around in his seat. Wishing more than ever that he had a hand free. Wanting to touch.  _Soothe._  As the man let go of an agonized groan.

"Eggsy-" Harry rasped, inflections uneven - breathing so hard that the words themselves were almost lost. Forcing each one out like it hurt before the shadows shifted and suddenly he was looking into unfamiliar eyes. Animal and overlarge with irises that were completely expanded in the low-dark. Drowning out tawny-tan when he knew like breathing that Harry's eyes had always been the lightest brown.

"Do what- you have to. Don't let me- not again. Not you. I-"

A frisson of fear arced through him as Harry's head dropped back against his shoulder, throat bared and rippling. Every muscle pulled tight and weirdly in flux before a slurry of weird, questioning little chirps – sounds no human mouth was ever meant to make – escaped from behind clenched teeth.

"Harry, look at me!"

And he did, head snapping up between pants. Shoulders hunched and twisting as the line of his shirt grew damp with a thick, clammy sweat that smelled like the first drop of water before a harsh desert rain. Showing sharp teeth flirting with blackening lips and-

But before he could do much else, a subtle clicking in the eaves was all she wrote before the vents in the office flipped and knockout gas flooded the room.


	2. Chapter 2

The next thing he was aware of was cold concrete burning against his cheek.

He groaned, lips squishing wetly against the puddle of drool he'd managed to make between now and the gas before he jammed his hands underneath him and raised his head a fraction. He groaned again, blinking. Everything was fuzzy and blurred and more or less still doing that awful spinning thing that kind of made him want to toss the breakfast his stomach was extremely aware of having missed.

"Harry?"

He shook his head, regretting it as a headache throbbed high and proud between his temples. Vaguely aware that they must have been untied, half conscious of the steel band slinking like liquid on the floor beside him.

"Harry?"

He blinked again, fingers inching out light-blind as the tips grazed across the criminally soft tuft of a forepaw. Reminding him of one of Daisy's stuffed animals when it was brand new, but with living steel flexing just underneath the skin. Finally processing the press of a sleek, overwarm shape twitching awake beside him. Hard and furry and-  _what the fuck?_

They reared up at the same time. Loopy and disoriented, heads jerking – shaking – for a good half minute before finding each other and focusing on- oh.

_Oh fuck._

* * *

"Harry?" he whispered as the cougar – because it _was_  a cougar. A big fucking regal looking thing with handsome tan fur, ripping claws and sharp teeth – cocked its head smartly. Lips pulling back, terrifyingly like a snarl before relaxing. Seeming to consider its predicament for a handful of beats before setting about extricating itself from the shredded remnants of Harry's shirt and trousers with clear distaste.

He barely reacted when a long tail whipped out and nearly caught him right in the face.

You could have heard a bloody pin drop.

It was that fuckin' quiet.

He licked his lips, watching the big cat –  _Harry?_  – carefully as bits and pieces of Professor Kerr's loony speech during the gala washed over him in waves.

"Christ, I really hope that's you in there mate," he muttered, shirt riding up as he began slowly inching a bit of space between them. He got about half a yard before freezing in place as the cat let go of a clear warning growl.

_What was it Kerr had said? Thinkin' Harry's genes were predisposed to be predatory or somemat'? So what, did that mean the serum was different for each person? Like someone could end up being a hawk or a stoat, and others bears or wolves and cougars? Bugs? Gross._

His pulse pounded in his throat, barely breathing as the big cat slunk easily to his feet. Approaching cautiously, shoulders hunched and head low until he could feel its breath warm and moist across the back of his neck. He stayed stock still as the animal circled him, scenting him daintily. Reminding him for all the world of the half-feral tom cats that skulked in the bins for scraps. Fishing out the choicest of bits before padding off like they had to hold court somewhere.

"Give me a sign, eh luv?" he managed as the cat paused its sniffing and looped back around to sit primly on its haunches. Head cocked expectantly in front of him like he understood every fuckin' word. So very like Harry that he barely held back the strangled sound building like a threat in the back of his throat. Half a sob. Half a laugh as Harry chirped encouragingly at him. Earnest as anything.

Still, he nearly pissed himself when Harry suddenly lunged forward and butted his head into his chest, letting go of a deep, guttural rumbling purr that made him picture Harry stretching out across the sheets in the early morning. Bare shoulders freckled-pale in the pink-stained dawn as he rolled them into the part of the bed that was still dark. Owning those last few minutes before their alarms went.

His hands came up to comb through thick, silky fur automatically. Still cautious, but trusting now as the ferocity of Harry's purrs threatened to drown out everything else as a wet nose grazed across his cheek. Rumbles that were more felt than heard rippled through him like liquid comfort. Something that clearly didn't go unnoticed by Harry, because when he laughed and pressed his face into that strong, furry neck, the purrs only got  _louder_.

They stayed like that for a smattering of moments, far too long to be anything but damning to the cameras still whirring busily in the background. But, as it turned out, they didn't have to worry about any of that. Because half a second later Harry suddenly stilled, muscles coiling tight around him. Baring yellow fangs at the door and letting go of a low warning hiss just before an explosion rocked the building.

He broke away, smiling ear to ear as Harry nudged him to his feet. Looking for all the world like he was poised to strike as the sound of screams and gunfire echoed down the hall.

_Brilliant._

_The Calvary was here._

* * *

"I know he's Harry and all, but really Eggsy, are you sure that's safe?" Roxy admonished, watching the two of them from a safe distance like they might be slightly combustible as he fisted the scruff on Harry's neck without really thinking. Enjoying the low, cooing purrs that emanated from the big cat as Harry clearly approved. Leaning into him like the big sop he was. All greedy and shit from the chilly metal examination table at Kingsman headquarters.

"Aint dead yet am I?" he returned, grinning like a loon as Harry's tail flicked back and forth. Looking from him, to Roxy and back to Merlin again as the animal specialist diddled around with one of the blood samples she'd taken a few minutes earlier.

"Ringing endorsement," Merlin deadpanned, serenely unamused as he consulted his tablet clipboard. Looking deliberately above it all despite the fact that he was sneaking looks at Harry from the corner of his eye every couple of seconds.

"You sure he's safe, yeah?" Roxy asked again, watching as Harry lowered himself until he was belly-flat on the table. Claws sheathed, pink tongue lolling innocently like a peace offering before sending her a winning little chirp that would have probably melted what was left of the polar icecaps in Greenland.

"If it wasn't for evidence to the contrary and his  _very good_  behavior I would be standing here telling you he was a normal, run of the mill Cougar. Or Mountain Lion, puma, etc as they say in North America," Doctor Chan, the animal specialist piped up, budging into the circle with the same seamless sort of grace that his mum had in the kitchen when she was in a mood.

"He is a mature male, from the sample I would say-  _ahem_ , on the very mature side. Only this is the interesting bit. Where the serum and his human biology got all mixed up. I don't think Professor Kerr has managed to get the difference worked out. Because, here, look," Doctor Chan explained, sending a series of images and a data stream from her tablet to the screen on the far side of the room.

"In the wild cougars only live till about ten or twelve. In captivity sometimes as long as twenty-one years. But not  _this_  long. His blood sample mirrors his human age, and naturally, puts him far beyond that mark. Only, here, like his human form, he's in peak fitness. If a bit on the peaky side. He could do with some feeding up. It's probably because of the energy transference during the transformation, but I would recommend his next few meals be high in protein."

"Meaning?" he echoed, itching a bit to get to the part where she told them Harry was fine and would be back to his old self in no time.

"Meat," Doctor Chan elaborated, snapping on a fresh pair of gloves as she did a distracted circle around the table, scanning Harry with what he vaguely recognized as one of those three-dimensional thingies Merlin wasn't letting him touch yet. "The fresher the better."

"Ah," Merlin said, shoving his glasses a couple inches up his nose like this was one of those rare times he had been caught unprepared and was currently trying to figure out how he felt about it.

Harry just licked his chops like the idea was absolutely  _spiffing_. Making a hopeful sounding chuff as he leaned over and swiped a lazy paw – still without claws - at the padded elbow of Merlin's jumper. Managing to unsettle the taller man enough that he nearly dropped his clip board.

"Yes well, I am sure we can arrange something," Merlin remarked hurriedly, scribbling quickly until his clipboard beeped in affirmation.

"In the meantime, I might have a little something to tide him over," Doctor Chan remarked, striding over to a small refrigerator and pulling out a plastic container that showed blood-red at the seams. "I volunteer as a Vet-Tech at a small Big Cat preservation a couple times a month, I brought home a container of beef by accident when I did my shift a couple days ago. I was going to throw it out but-"

Harry was off the table and sitting pretty before any of them were consciously aware he'd even  _moved_. Letting go of an assenting little churl – all manners and almost painful politeness as he and Doctor Chan let go of a mirroring laugh. Catching on to Harry's eagerness as she placed the container on the floor in front of him and nodded for him to dig in.

"Hungry, eh bruv?" he hummed, sinking down on his haunches as he rubbed the calloused-wide of his thumb between the big cat's ears. Marveling at how it was both coarse and soft at the same time.

"In the wild, their prey can be anything from rabbits and porcupines to deer and elk. They are equal opportunity hunters. Adaptable. But they prefer bigger game when they can get it," Doctor Chan explained as they watched Harry eat. Unconsciously fascinated as the big cat fished out the choicest chunks first. Smearing blood across his muzzle before he licked it clean. Fastidious as always.

He frowned. Wondering if that was the point. If your personality and behavior – who you were as a person – had a hand in how the serum changed you? Because as daft as it sounded, seeing Harry like this, well, it fit somehow.  _Clicked._  Harry coming out the other side as a predator was no big shock, he figured practically everyone in the god damned building would have elements of that. But it was the feline part that jived the strongest.  _Graceful. Precise. Powerful. Sleek. Dangerous. Particular. Solitary. Hunter._  All words that could be associated with both man and beast.

It was beautiful, in a strangely awful sort of way. Like coming full circle or something. Reconnecting with all the dark, baser parts people liked to convince themselves they didn't have anymore. The places were instinct and urges were more than just faint echoes, but voices that had the power to warp and scream.

"A cougar will typically take down an elk or deer and cache it for a day or two – even up to a week - until they've eaten their fill. Afterwards, they typically won't eat for a week. They prefer organ meat. Heart. Liver. Lungs. And depending on conditions they will either leave the kill or stay if they can. Expectant or nursing mothers will generally stay with a kill until they have cracked the bones for marrow. This is typical also for Cougars that are in danger of starvation. A Cougar in those situations - if another predator doesn't chase them off - will stay with a kill until there is nothing left but hair and bone fragments," Doctor Chan told them.

"In his case if you get the organ meat and a couple pints of blood he should be alright until the serum works through his system and he's back to rights," she finished cheerfully. Like all this was a matter of a simple trip to the shop or somemat.

_Ugh, imagine going to a butcher and trying to explain why you needed the freshest organ meat and animal blood they had? No questions asked?_

"You said something about other predators?" Roxy said curiously, still watching Harry warily but inching a bit closer to the digital display. "I thought Pumas – sorry, Cougars – were apex predators themselves?"

"They are. But recently bears and wolves have been reintroduced into their territories - smaller concentrations of prey and shrinking habitat. So now what we're seeing is more competition for the same food sources. Cougars are solitary animals, they don't have a pride like lions. So against a wolf pact? Or a fully grown male Grizzly? They are pragmatists rather than territorial when it comes to a meal. Usually they'll abandon a kill rather than defend it. Which is part of the reason why they prefer the organ meat first. Nowadays the problem is that there are more predators in the same area. Historically they used to share the same territories, but they were more spread out – they weren't all crunched so close together. Which, I suppose, is why Professor Kerr felt the need to do something like this. I can't say he isn't wrong," Doctor Chan remarked with a sigh. Tapping her stylus against her chin thoughtfully as Harry licked the container clean with a thoroughness that reminded him of JB at dinner time.

He seized the natural pause as Harry prowled around the lab. Pausing here and there to give something a good sniff. "So, how long is this going to last?"

"It's hard to say with certainty, even with the samples Lancelot was able to collect," Doctor Chan replied, nodding towards Roxy respectfully. "But it definitely isn't permanent. The fluctuations in the serum are too unstable to do any lasting damage… Kerr might have a workable serum but it needs to be perfected before it can be successful. So, thankfully, we have time on that front. As you can see he still has a degree of human reasoning skills, memory. A wild animal would have had to be sedated immediately but he understands what is necessary, just as he would in human form."

"Speculation?" Merlin asked, straight to the point as he scribbled on his clipboard hurriedly.

"Keeping in mind this is all guesswork? No more than forty-eight hours since injection. So, a day, perhaps more," she answered.

"Well, what am I supposed to do with 'im in the mean time? Can't exactly take 'im home or nothin' can I?" he pointed out, nearly losing his balance as Harry angled back towards him. Nudging him enthusiastically and butting his head against his thigh.

"Certainly not!" Merlin bristled, before deflating slightly. "Normally I would insist you both stay here in case there are any complications. Not to mention end of mission protocols. However-"

And, as if on cue, that was the moment Harry slunk towards the door. Timing the moment just right so that the second before Percival came around the corner, a stack of files tucked under his arm and two coffees balanced in the other, Harry struck. Flying across the hall inches in front of the man's nose as Percival yelped – clutching at his chest like a heart attack – as the files flew through the air above their heads like paper rain.

"-perhaps it would be best if you took him elsewhere," Merlin finished pointedly, pinching the bridge of his nose for a long moment as Percival let go of a string of curses that would have made a sailor blush.

"There is a remote cottage up in the country that should do," Merlin added, ignoring the fluttering papers as Roxy kindly tossed her coffee-drenched mentor a box of tissues. "It has a large, private estate. Take one of the vans and for  _Christ sakes Eggsy_ , don't let anyone catch sight of him. The last thing we need is a public panic."

Harry just chirped, loud, rolling and self-satisfied like a chuckle.

 _The smug bastard_.

Still, he was unable to do anything but laugh as the big cat strutted over and threaded himself between his legs, purring up a storm. Looking quite pleased with himself as Percival glared over at them darkly, eyes promising vengeance as Roxy and Doctor Chan helped him gather up the files. Not quite able to stifle their giggles.

"Yeah, I get it," he said with a grin. "No problem, guv."


	3. Chapter 3

They ended up being dropped off by helicopter along with enough supplies for the next couple of days when Merlin eventually caught sight of the traffic cameras and decided taking Harry along for a couple hours worth of gridlock simply wasn't worth the risk.

He certainly wasn't complaining mind you. After all, there was a reason people took the tube in this city. Besides, as much as he wouldn't have minded the drive, it wasn't exactly like he could stop on the side of the road and let Harry out for a wee when nature called. Something Harry just flicked his tail disdainfully at, when he pointed it out before they clambered inside.

The cat in question disappeared immediately the moment they landed. Dead set on exploring. The propellers were still spinning as he and the pilot watched him bound off, temporarily flattening the thick, heather-tinted brush. Filling the air with the smell of earth and wet as he breathed in the rare sights and smells of the English countryside.

He and his mum had gone on day trips, back before she'd met Dean and had Daisy. But they were nothing like this. Didn't hold a candle if he was bein' honest. This was the type of shit that only existed in postcards and old movies - too idyllic and untouched to be real. Like if you turned a fraction of an inch from the neat little cabin and woodshed, you could almost swear that no human had ever been here, let alone set up shop.

The pilot just fixed him with a look that clearly said  _good luck mate, you're gonna need it_  as he grabbed their bags and snagged the keys before waving him off. Clearly glad to be out of range of Mr. Sharp teeth and hooked claws himself. Making him wonder what Merlin had actually said to the man before take-off or if the pilot had just been running with the punches this whole time.

He could see either, frankly. Merlin could be a sadistic bastard when he wanted to be. And right now he had a migraine and computer chair of cat hair to deal with so-

The helicopter was long gone and he had them more or less moved in by the time Harry made a reappearance. Streaking across the front pasture, dead on the heels of a fat looking rabbit. He leaned up against the door jam, just watching. Feeling the raw, primal sort of power second hand as Harry chased it around an old stump and cut it off from its warren. Giving it the ol' round and round before putting on a burst of speed and catching its hind end with razor sharp claws. Tumbling them both into the long grass as the poor rabbit let go of a  _horrible_ sound.

"Rank, Harry," he commented without heat as the rabbit's screams suddenly cut off and Harry was striding proudly out of the bush. Mouth full of very dead rabbit as he flopped down close by to enjoy the spoils of his hunt.

"You know Merlin got you all the elk hearts and deer livers you could possibly eat, yeah? He's gonna to be right pissed if you don't touch any of it. Roxy told me he was on the phone with some butcher for over for half an hour, yelling in German _and_  Russian."

Instead of answering Harry just flicked his eyes up at him – bored - before turning back to his rabbit. Pinning the small body between his paws as he set about ripping the fur clear off. The sound alone was enough to make him wrinkle his nose. Remembering something Doctor Chan had said about not being able to digest it like other predators as grey-white fur puffed around Harry's paws in uneven tufts.

He watched for a few minutes before wisely deciding to go inside and make some tea.

Harry or not, that was a bit much.

Even for him.

* * *

 

He was star-fished across the dusty couch, reading on his tablet when Harry nosed open the door and padded inside. He watched him closely, grinning in spite of himself as Harry stalked forward. Eying an overlarge dust bunny like it was potential prey, before startling when he wrenched himself upright and pointed at him with a triumphant- " _ah-ha!"_

"Been doing some reading while you've been terrorizing the locales," he hummed, waving his tablet lazily. "You were just shadow-stepping, weren't you? Front paws to back so that you leave two foot prints instead of one? Brilliantly clever, Harry. That's what you are."

Harry's tail twitched – amused and maybe a little bit affronted.

"I found a couple of articles, even a documentary. Hard to find apparently. Your lot is a secretive bunch, mysterious even," he remarked with a wink. Nodding companionably as Harry let go of a questioning chirp.

"It's cause of territory mostly, high and remote. Pain in the ass to get a camera crew up there I expect. That and you're a right bitch to collar and track apparently," he continued. "Says here there's only 30,000 left in the wild in the United States."

He figured it was alright to continue when Harry padded closer. Looking around in clear distaste before jumping up on the couch beside him. Stretching out against his side with a yawn that showed a mouthful of fangs and a dark, speckled-pink tongue.

"Says they're solitary, yeah? Not exactly up for smoozing unless they have an itch they need to scratch – December to March mating season apparently," he shared, reading directly from the tablet as he ran his fingers down the soft of the big cat's ears – petting absently.

"Their territory – or  _ranges_ , it says here – can be as small as ten miles but get up to almost four hundred in some cases. Apparently the birds are far more practical and have the smaller ones. Whys it always gotta be the boys trying to prove how boss they are anyway? Especially considering they sod off before the real work is done. It's shoddy work, that's what."

Harry shifted against him, getting comfortable as the steady rise and fall of his furry chest turned the world thick and rhythmic. Lulling and peaceable in all the best ways as they enjoyed the moment for what it was. A rare mid-afternoon lie-in.

"It says here that the babies have spots, like a cheetah or somemat' but they lose 'em as they get older. Same with the blue eyes," he added on the tail of his own echoes. "They usually have two to four kits each time 'round. Only, oh- most don't make it. Nature's pretty cruel, huh?"

He frowned, thinking about Professor Kerr and the dying rabbit's screams before shaking it off determinedly. Swiping at his tablet as he clicked play on a youtube video someone had posted of den sounds. Nearly losing it when Harry almost rolled right off the couch in surprise. Head cocking something awful like they'd gone and said a rude word or somemat' as the indignant chirping of newborn kits could be heard from the rear of the den.

"Wot ya' think about that bruv? Ready to go sire yourself a brood?" he snorted, laughing out loud when Harry let out a long suffering groan beside him and hooked his claws gently into the loops of his jeans. Tugging him with the weight just enough to make something warm start to pool in that lonely little corner of him that Harry usually occupied in full force.

He'd never exactly been good at waiting.

But he'd wait a million years for Harry any day of the week.

* * *

 

It wasn't until the sun set and darkness rolled in that boredom hit in full force.

"So, whatcha wanna do?" he questioned, somewhat at a loss. Messing around with a bit of wrapper from his dinner as Harry watched a disgustingly large spider try and scuttle across the floorboards undetected.

"When's the last time you had a holiday, even?" he asked after a moment, looking around the spartan cabin that looked like it hadn't seen a decorator in about forty years and probably never even _heard_  the word telly. "Were the dinosaurs still roamin' or what?"

A good twenty minutes went by before he got anything close to an answer and even then 'answer' was a bit of a stretch. In fact, Harry just flomped in front of the soot-stained hearth, spider pointedly dealt with, panting up at him in clear request.

He sighed.  _Guess he was making a fuckin' fire then._

* * *

 

They spent the next day dicking around mostly. He followed Harry into the wilds and they ended up hiking and exploring until dusk. Forgetting about responsibilities, the outside world. Even the question of when Harry was going to change back became distant as the big cat led him down a gully-crevasse and, eventually, to a warm, mountain-fed spring.

He stripped down without even thinking about it. Breathing in the mineral-rich musk of the deep woods as he curled his feet into the pebbly bottom and dunked his head. Goading Harry, who was sitting resolutely on the water's edge, with the occasional splash of water just to watch him puff up and hiss like it was the worst thing in the world.

By the time they'd dragged ass home and he'd set Harry on the container of elk hearts and deer livers he'd decided they'd come back here someday. They had to. When Harry was back to rights they'd come back and enjoy it properly. Together. He didn't care what Harry thought about lazy Sundays and vacations. After all they'd been through, he figured they deserved a little slice of the good stuff.

* * *

 

Merlin called for a status report two hours after Doctor Chan's estimate had come and gone. He tried not to take it personally. Feeling like the lowest shite imaginable when Merlin hummed in response. Recognizing pointed disappointment when he heard it before the man reminded him – surprisingly gently – that Harry had never exactly been someone who'd excelled at being on time.

Harry had just sniffed at that, lounging in front of the fire like a sphinx watching the flames.

_Otherworldly and aloof._

* * *

 

It wasn't until Harry butted under his palm, insistent and questioning like a tom cat inviting scratches that he realized he'd drifted off. Looking down to find Harry posed primly in front of him. Claws kneading rhythmically into the awful shag carpet in a way he was half sure the man –  _er, cat_  – wasn't even aware of.

"Sorry Harry," he exhaled, stretching his fingers out as Harry ducked his head to meet him, purring like a radiator. Yowling quietly, like the man could tell he had something on his mind until he sighed and gave in. "Suppose we're both locked in our own heads a bit."

He let the moment air out for a while before he pulled himself out of the chair by the fire with a groan. Already feeling all their cliff-climbing and tramping around as he pulled his shirt over his head and crawled into the small, double bed he'd pushed up against the far corner of the room the day they'd got here.

_Habit, he supposed. Farther from the door. Defendable._

"I just keep wondering. About Professor Kerr- if he messed up or what? Because honestly, sticking a bunch of people with this rot and having it end up like  _this_  doesn't seem like what he was aiming for. Were you supposed to go full wild or what?" he questioned softly, distracted enough that when Harry butted his head against his bare legs he nearly toppled over into the mess of sheets. Getting stuck on it as the reality of their situation settled in for the first time since the mission had gone pear-shaped.

_This was fucking ridiculous, that's what this was._

His entire life since he'd signed on with Kingsman had been one long weird-ass train wreck he never really wanted to get off of. But seriously, having your boyfriend turned into a Mountain Lion _had_  to rate up there.

"And-" he admitted, blowing out a long pent up breath before ploughing forward. In too deep to do anything else but streak through the finish. "I guess I was thinking about what you said in Professor Kerr's cell."

He closed his eyes. Replaying it. He knew what that admission would have cost him. How much Harry must have been feeling it to say it out loud. On the cusp of that same feeling he'd had inside that church – powerful and powerless.  _Out of control._ The whole thing left a bad taste in his mouth and he wasn't even the one who'd experienced the bloody thing.

" _Do what- you have to. Don't let me- not again. Not you. I-"_

"Just didn't want you to have to feel like that again, luv," he said, so quiet he wasn't sure if the words had made it to his lips until Harry leapt up beside him. Nuzzling in close until he was laid out flat and Harry was draped on top of him. Wide paws gentle-firm across his bare chest as he looked down at him. Seeming to think about it for a long moment – how it would translate maybe – before a rough tongue rasped like a sloppy kiss across his cheek.

His laugh was dry – more reflexive than anything. Like that was just one of a handful of appropriate responses he could use like a shield. It was more for Harry than anything, or at least that was what he told himself. Hell, he knew Harry like he knew himself. Intimately aware that  _this_ , whatever _this_  was, all those uncomfortable feelings and junk, wasn't exactly something they excelled at.

"Its a'ight," he murmured automatically, wondering if the big cat could taste the lie as it left his lips without him really thinking about it.  _Force of habit._  "I'm fine Harry, just miss 'ya is all."

Harry just purred in agreement, tucking his muzzle into the pale of his neck like hearing the slurry of his pulse was a needed comfort. Apparently determined to stick as close as he wanted him to stay as the minutes stretched out. Feeling all the important bits of Harry leak through somehow – refined, honest and comfortingly familiar - until his lids grew heavy and sleep took them both.

* * *

 

He woke up sometime during the night to Harry - gloriously human and splayed out arse naked on top of him - trying to smother a cough into the curl of his forearm.

They breathed like that for a while. Just soaking it in as cold toes grazed between body-warmed sheets and miles of bare skin before he even thought about saying something. Too drunk on the glory of it, of having Harry back, until the desire to make a cheeky comment became a bit too much to resist.

"Oy," he hummed sleepily, turning his head off to the side as the dragging, mussed up feathers of Harry's hair tickled across his nape. "If you have a hairball, I love you and all, but you're on your own, mate."

There was silence after that – comfortable and easy. Figuring Harry was either plotting his death or privately agreeing with him before the chuckles started. He grinned into the mattress as they aired out, deep and rolling. More felt than heard, just like that luxurious purr he almost gotten used to hearing until suddenly Harry was rolling them in the sheets.

He followed him down like a mutual surrender, smothering his face in all that good, musky, Harry-smelling skin. Laughing with him as happy, ridiculous,  _relieved_  tears welled up in the corners of his eyes and Harry started sounding like he was choking on top of him. Rib cage doing this weird jumping thing that jerked into his back and left him with barely enough breath to wheeze out with.

"Oy, don't think I'm ever going to let the kitty thing drop, either," he panted dryly, voice breaking when Harry's hips firmed in the press of his ass. Politely hard. Just like most blokes got when they were exceedingly comfortable and with that one person where, no matter what - half-dead, sick or sexy - you'd always manage to get it up for.

And true to form, Harry didn't seem fussed about doing anything about it as he stayed where he was. Half on top of him and suffocating him slowly. Letting the sharp of his nails shiver down the inside of his spine, just like Harry knew he liked as dawn threatened on the other side of the curtains.

"Or how much your liked those ear scratches either," he sassed, because now that everything was how it should be, he just couldn't resist. I've earned all the blackmail material I need for the rest of me sodding life, I figure."

He got perturbed noise and a smack on the arse for that one, but hell of it wasn't worth it.

_After all, how couldn't it be?_

_He'd gotten Harry back, hadn't he?_

* * *

 

"You smelled like mine," Harry thrummed, sometime later when the laughter had faded and he was at the point where the man was almost too heavy on top of him.

"That whole time,  _Christ_ , my dear boy, you have _no_  idea-" he broke off, nosing into his nape and inhaling audibly. One hand reeling out to firm around the curl of his throat. Squeezing just enough for him to go boneless as the man rubbed his face down the knobs of his spine. A low, contented sound building like a growl in the back of his throat as Harry's free hand started roaming.

And okay-  _yeah_ , suddenly there were a whole lot of other, far more _interesting_  things to think about than telling Harry to shove off 'im.


End file.
